International Public Science Day 2003

Program Participation Guidelines for Project Webspace
and
Criteria for Consideration for
"The Unisys Prize for Online Science Education"

A significant deliverable for all participants in the International Public Science Day 2003 program is the creation of a webspace that represents the real science inquiry taking place throughout the program year. The following criteria should guide the creation of that webspace.

Project Identification

Credit statements and specifications are provided for display in your webspace.
The project webspace should be served from the participating science center's identified web server. (This website may be hosted by an external provider, but the webspace content may not be created by outside contractors.) The address of the webspace should be given to The Franklin Institute for establishing a link from the main program webspace.
The program logo should be displayed prominently, at least once, in the project webspace. Links back to the main program information area (at www.fi.edu/psd2003) should be made.

Educational and Scientific Content

The project webspace must be presented in the English language in order to be considered competitive for "The Unisys Prize for Online Science Education."
The project webspace should provide online detailed descriptions of the activities that are taking place related to the theme. Visitors should be able to use these descriptions to try the same or similar activities on their own.
The project webspace should represent a model for practitioners who are considering the use of the web in support of inquiry-based science learning. Student testimonials and annotations are encouraged.
The project webspace should include a narrative description of the project events. That narrative should be grammatically precise.
The basic scientific principles behind the inquiry activities should be presented. The science content should be accurate.

Web Design Features and Functionality

The project webspace should be visually attractive, including the use of high quality, attractive graphic images.
The project webspace should be accessible to all browsers, with low-bandwidth users taken into consideration.
Use of new interactive technologies is desirable, so long as instructions for use of appropriate plug-ins are provided.
Opportunities for visitor feedback should be provided.

Prize Recognition

Receipt of "The Unisys Prize for Online Science Education" equals a commitment to maintain the status of the winning website resource for a term of, at minimum, one year from date of receipt.
The winning website(s) will receive a digital image for placement on the first page of the resource. This promotional image should be displayed for a term of, at minimum, one year from date of receipt.
The cash award associated with the prize will be delivered to the science center liaison, who will be asked to report how the proceeds are applied and/or divided.